Trees

A Snapshot of the projects we are currently funding

Roslin Foundation Studentships

We are committed to inspiring promising young students to study in the field of biosciences as it relates to agriculture and biomedicine, and as such we have created a prestigious scholarship scheme in partnership with the Roslin Institute. Our Studentships run for 4 years in duration and include an enhanced stipend, consumables and travel allowance. These studentships are open to all staff on the Easter Bush campus but must contain at least 1 Roslin Institute staff member in the supervisory team.

The Foundation is currently funding 4 students:

  • Disentangling the mammalian regulatory code using deep learning
  • Determining the potential of CpG enrichment as a live attenuated vaccine augmentation strategy for influenza A virus
  • Mode of action of lymphostatin, a novel lymphocyte inhibitory factor of pathogenic Escherichia coli.
  • An in vitro organoid model for ‘leaky gut syndrome’

Roslin Foundation Project Funding

To promote Scotland as a world leader in bioscience and encourage leading scientists in the field to come to us with innovative ideas we are excited to fund a research programme including such projects as:

Redmaasai

BUILDING A REFERENCE QUALITY ANNOTATED GENOME ASSEMBLY FOR RED MAASAI SHEEP AS A RESOURCE TO UNDERSTAND COMPLEX TRAITS SUCH AS SUSCEPTIBILITY TO GI HELMINTH INFECTION.

In partnership with the Roslin Institute, the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) the Foundation is funding a project to generate a high quality reference genome for the Red Maasai sheep which will be used to support research.  generated from the ILRI flock at Kapiti in Kenya.  This will provide a resource to understand the genomic control of complex traits that pose significant barriers to productivity in small holder systems, such as susceptibility to disease and infection.

DEVELOPING GENOMIC BREEDING STRATEGIES FOR EAST-AFRICAN CROSS BRED DAIRY CATTLE

African cow herd

In partnership with the Roslin Institute, the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) the Foundation is funding a project to analyse the genomes of crossbreds and identifying the breed origin of different areas of the genome and their complete genomic history, enabling accurate genomic selection for these populations, bringing genetic gains such as increased productivity and resilience in low and middle-income countries.

The project will focus on sustainably improving the production of crossbred cattle for a range of East African smallholder dairy production systems. The methods developed in this project will enable breeders in Africa to perform genomic selection and planned mating of crossbred animals to ensure that genomic regions that control key traits are combined in the best way to meet the needs of farmers. By empowering the African dairy sector, this novel breeding strategy will sustainably transform tropical bovine dairy production and provide affordable, high-quality nutrition to a high and increasing proportion of the African population.